Production of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine was suspended after a suspicious package was sent to one of its largest plants

Police vehicles stand outside the Wockhardt UK plant n Wrexham, Wales, on January 27, 2021. Phil Noble/Reuters

• A plant producing Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines was forced to halt production after receiving a suspicious package.
• The Wockhardt UK plant in Wales, which is producing 100 million doses of the vaccine, evacuated its employees.
• A police bomb-disposal squad attended the incident.
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Production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was suspended after one of its largest plants received a "suspicious package" and had to evacuate workers.

A spokesman for the Wockhardt UK plant in Wrexham, Wales, said the site received the package on Wednesday morning.

Local police and a bomb-disposal unit were at the scene by 1 p.m. local time, North Wales News reported.

"Upon expert advice we have partially evacuated the site pending a full investigation," a Wockhardt UK spokesman told Insider in a statement. "The safety of our employees and business continuity remain of paramount importance."

The spokesman added that production had been halted due to employees being off site, but said the plant is still on track to meet its production target per its contract with the UK government.

Wockhardt UK has been tasked by the government to make 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, per the spokesman. The agreement was struck in August 2020 and due to run for 18 months.

The plant is charged with carrying out the "fill and finish" stage of the manufacturing process, dispensing the vaccine into vials ready for distribution, per a government statement.

A company press release announcing the partnership said the company has long been one of the National Health Service's largest suppliers, and that it employs more than 400 people at its 612,000-square-foot Wrexham plant.

Read more: More than 200 coronavirus vaccines are still in development as the initial vaccine rollout ramps up. Here's how experts anticipate 2021 playing out.

The contents and source of the package remain unknown, and authorities are still investigating, the spokesman said.

No injuries have been reported.

Insider has contacted North Wales Police and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy for comment.